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England player ratings: Marc Guehi top marks as Three Lions finish fourth

England finished fourth after beating France 6-4; Howell rates players with Guehi top at 8.

Sport

England player ratings: Marc Guehi top marks as Three Lions finish fourth

England concluded their World Cup campaign with a thrilling 6-4 victory over France to secure fourth place in North America, and BBC Sport's Alex Howell has rated each player's tournament performance.

Jordan Pickford, the Everton goalkeeper and England's undisputed number one, endured an erratic tournament, earning a 6. His best display came in the semi-final loss to Argentina, but he will question himself over Enzo Fernandez's goal. Dean Henderson, second choice, started the bronze-medal match and produced an excellent save to deny Kylian Mbappe but conceded four, also rated 6.

England finished fourth after beating France 6-4; Howell rates players with Guehi top at 8.

At the back, Marc Guehi stood out with an 8. The centre-back did not start the opening game against Croatia but came in to show his usual calmness and quality, putting in an excellent performance against Manchester City team-mate Erling Haaland in the quarter-final against Norway before England's exit. Ezri Konsa featured in every game, starting at centre-back and even right-back in the quarter-final win over Norway, ending with a goal in the third-place play-off and a rating of 7.

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John Stones, whose inclusion was considered a gamble by manager Thomas Tuchel due to fitness issues, started the first game with shaky moments and dropped out, but regrouped to start the quarter-final and semi-final. The 32-year-old showed his quality but was caught under the ball for Lautaro Martinez's winner, earning a 7.

Jarell Quansah, a surprise pick in the 26-man squad, had a mixed tournament rated 6. He started well against Panama before injury, then did likewise against Mexico before being sent off, but returned for the third-place play-off. Dan Burn's inclusion was debated, but his performance against Mexico underlined the reasoning with his aerial prowess. Trevoh Chalobah, called up as a replacement for Tino Livramento in a decision that prompted debate about full-back depth, played only minutes in the closing stages of the win over France, rated 5. James Trafford did not feature, gaining experience as third choice.

With the tournament over, Tuchel now faces decisions on which of these players form the core for future campaigns.

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